Pierre Bourque

It's hard to imagine Montreal without protections for Mount Royal, public consultations, an urban plan, the public's right to ask questions at city council meetings, women occupying positions of power at city hall; without Accès Montréal offices, municipal services offered in multiple languages, intercultural and public-safety committees, affirmative-action hiring for city jobs.

Despite more than 260 kilometres of shoreline, the island of Montreal, lamentably, has only a handful of beaches where sun-starved city dwellers and visitors alike can catch some rays and take a dip during the precious days of summer.

The engineering firm Roche is alleged to have given $100,000 toward the election campaign of former Montreal mayor Gérald Tremblay, according to evidence in newly unsealed applications for search warrants made public Thursday.

Robert (Bob) Côté , Chief Inspector Felix Jean, Mayor Jean Drapeau and Montreal Police director Jean-Paul Gilbert on March 3, 1969
Long before he was a city councillor, Robert (Bob) Côté was a police officer.